CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – A dismal new snapshot of jobs in America shadowed the presidential campaign on Friday, testing the voter patience that will save or sink President Barack Obama's re-election bid. Seizing on the timing, Republican Mitt Romney said Obama's convention party had given way to quite a "hangover."

Employers added just 96,000 jobs in August, not nearly enough to seriously dent unemployment, let alone inspire confidence that the economy is getting better. Even the good news – the unemployment rate dropped from 8.3 percent to 8.1 percent – resulted from many job-hunters just giving up.

"We're going in the wrong direction," Romney declared, a view echoed by a majority of Americans still reeling from a massive recession.